Dreamers, Thinkers, Doers (Paperback)

What kind of economy truly helps us flourish? This question lies at the heart of this interview collection. Through a series of engaging interviews, today’s innovators – from CEOs and entrepreneurs to artists, scientists, and politicians – share their visions on and experiences of the economy of tomorrow: one that is fairer, more inclusive and more sustainable.

But these voices do more than imagine a better future; they show how it can be realized. They examine what it takes to turn ideas into action and take the first concrete steps toward change. The collection brings to life a new “multi-actor approach,” as outlined by Jan Peter Balkenende and Govert Buijs in Capitalism Reconnected (2024) – an approach in which everyone matters and shares responsibility: governments, businesses, civil society, and consumers alike.

Govert Buijs is a political philosopher and Professor of Social and Economic Renewal at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He is part of the faculty’s Èthos research centre and from 2016 to 2026 held the Goldschmeding Research Chair.

Ellen Klaver studied Philosophy of Culture and Governance at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Global Business and Sustainability at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is a researcher at the Èthos Centre (VU) and at Socires, a Dutch thinktank on societal issues.

Marcus van Toor studied Cultural History at Utrecht University and Philosophy of Culture and Governance at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He is a researcher at the Netherlands Court of Audit, focusing on infrastructure, the environment, and the energy transition.